Brown's 35 helps Wooster rout Wabash

WOOSTER -- It's hard to imagine Steve Moore ever having a better day than he did Saturday.

It began in the morning, with the birth of his first grandson. His College of Wooster basketball team then followed up with its most impressive performance of the young season.

The Fighting Scots, behind the 35-point outing of Xavier Brown, blew out Wabash 97-56 in a North Coast Athletic Conference matinee at Timken Gym.

With Brown scoring 26 of his career-high total in the opening 20 minutes, the Scots (6-1, 2-0) put together a near-perfect first half, running out to a 52-25 halftime lead and then cruising from there to their fifth consecutive victory.

Brown, the Scots' leading scorer at 15.2 a game, made 10-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-4 3-pointers, and eclipsed his previous best mark of 24 on a 3-pointer that gave the Scots their big halftime lead. He would go on to become just the 12th player in school history to score 35 points in a game, and reached that total despite playing just eight second-half minutes. The sophomore's total is the highest since James Cooper scored 37 on Jan. 21, 2006

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"Today I just went out and let the game come to me," said Brown, who finished 13-of-17 shooting, making all five 3-pointers he took and 4-of-4 at the foul line. "The last couple of games I haven't got off to good starts and forced some things, so I tried to let the game come to me and focused on finishing, and I got some open looks.

"It's a good feeling. Some days you can't miss one and some days you can't make one, and today was a good day."

By the half, there wasn't much for Moore to complain about. In addition to Brown's explosion, Wooster held Wabash to 9-of-25 shooting, including 0-for-8 3-pointers. And, averaging 17 turnovers coming in, the Scots had just one at the break, finishing with a season-low five.

It's how Wooster was able to build its huge advantage despite going 17-of-37 from the floor -- not a terrible reading, but certainly not one that should result in a 27-point lead.

"That shows what you can do when you don't turn it over and you get shots instead," said Moore. "And the reason we weren't turning it over was that we didn't force things. We were aggressive, but patient at the same time, and that's the key to a good offense. It sounds a little contradictory, but that's how you're successful, when you're passing the ball and creating shots for each other.

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"Before today, the problem was driving to the basket but not reading the defense. So many times the help would come defensively and we'd force shots, but today, guys were under control, then making the pass to the open man."

Wooster never trailed, sprinting out to a 16-6 lead on Brown's first 3 before Wabash (2-5, 1-1) went inside to 6-foot-7 post Pete Nicksic (13 points, 8 rebounds) and cut the deficit to 21-15.

Over the next 8:00, though, the Scots broke it open. A three-point play by Kenny DeBoer began a 23-3 Wooster run, with Geoff Fuquay, Evan Pannell, Jalen Goodwin, Doug Thorpe and Brown all contributing 3-pointers. The Scots were 9-of-18 from long distance in the first half, and their tight man-to-man defense not only held the Little Giants to 36-percent shooting, it also forced 12 turnovers.

"Our goal was to get it inside," said Wabash coach Antoine Carpenter, in his second season after replacing longtime Wabash coach and Wooster native Mac Petty. "What happened during that run was we had some turnovers, they were able to go down and score, and the game got away from us."

Wabash has four new starters and 13 of the 18-man roster are either freshmen or sophomores, including freshman Daniel Purvlicis, who tied Nicksic for team honors with 13 points. Evan Johnson added 11 points.

"You can't blame anything on youth," Carpenter said. "Every game we play is a learning experience, and this was our first conference road game. We have to learn how to play on the road.

"It was definitely a challenge," he added. "Wooster has really good guard play. They're able to get to the rim, they're able to hit 3's, and they can pull up and hit mid-range jumpers."

Wooster didn't rest on its halftime lead, shooting 59 percent and outscoring Wabash 45-31 in the second half. Thorpe was the only other Scot in double figures with 11 points, but 15 of the 16 players who saw action scored.

A year ago, the Scots lost their first meetings with both Wabash and Wittenberg and could never catch up in the NCAC, seeing a seven-year streak of regular season championships snapped.

This season, they own December wins over both rivals, and can complete the 2012 portion of the conference schedule at 3-0 with a win Friday at Kenyon.

"We have a chip on our shoulder about not winning the conference title, and Wittenberg and Wabash both got us, so we had a lot to play for," said Brown. "The league title is the main thing we want to accomplish, so we put a lot of weight on this game.

"I feel this team is more athletic, and we have a lot of young guys with talent. It's a matter of getting everyone on the same page and getting geared up on the defensive end, but overall, I feel the sky is the limit. It's just a matter of how hard we work."

Mike Plant can be reached at 330-287-1649 or mplant@the-daily-record.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MPlantTDR.